Bravante Vineyards Trio Napa Valley Howell Mountain Red Blend 2018
During the gala family celebration gathering and dinner, featured in this blogspot - Family dinner features latest Bordeaux Releases, limited production No-Cal labels, Alec served this premium Napa Howell Red Blend that he acquired from one of his on-line sources.According to the producer’s website Bravante Vineyards is a family owned and operated small production winery dating back to its founding in 1996 by George & Nancy Bravante. They produce small-batch estate sourced wines comprised of Bordeaux varietals, striving to showcase the unique terroir of their estate, high up the front (west side face) of Howell Mountain that produces “full-bodied yet balanced Bordeaux- style” wines.
The estate and vineyards sit on Howell Mountain, one of Napa’s oldest and most prestigious growing regions. Located from 1,400 – 2300 ft above the town of St. Helena, the mountain has incredibly unique geographic characteristics that make its wineries so famous. Some of its key characteristics including sitting above the fog (which reaches up from the valley floor to about 1200 feet. That is the demarcation point between the Napa Valley appellation below, and the Howell Mountain appellation above.
Beginning at 1,400 feet in elevation and rising to 2,300 feet above sea level, Howell Mountain vineyards sit above the fog line receiving abundant sunshine with warm days and cool nights in the summer allow for the slow maturation of fruit in the vineyard. The growing season allows the fruit to develop complex flavors and structured tannins for which Howell Mountain is famous.
The well-draining soils of volcanic ash and gravelly loam work in conjunction with the unique climate of Howell Mountain to produce structured wines with great aging potential.
On the 20 acres estate of undeveloped land on Howell Mountain, they planted the Bravante Estate Stone Ridge Vineyard in early 1998 with Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
The Stone Ridge Vineyard is a 20-acre parcel, and is the site of the winery and caves, sitting roughly 1,680 feet above sea level on a volcanic bench cut by nature. There, seven acres are planted in four blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, two blocks of Cabernet Franc and one block of Merlot. The deep and rocky soils produce clusters of small berries and wines that are deeply intense with complex flavors.
They acquired another small vineyard down the road and slightly up the mountain in 2000. There they planted the Black Oak Vineyard on a rocky hillside to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Malbec, and Sauvignon Blanc. The unique character of this site adds intense minerality and complexity to the wines.
After making wine off-site for a few years, continually nurturing the vines and fine tuning and improving their wines, they set out to build their own estate winery in 2005. By the 2009 harvest, they completed construction and permitting and gained the coveted status of being 100% estate grown, produced and bottled.
They strive to produce “quality over quantity”, applying the best vineyard practices, growing wine grapes with minimal intervention, seeking to express the best qualities of the unique terroir of Howell Mountain. They also practice minimal intervention in their winemaking and in the cellar, where they age the wines two years in the barrel and additional time in bottle.
Taylor is advised by Phillip Corallo-Titus, Consulting Winemaker. As the winemaker for Pritchard Hill’s iconic Chappellet Vineyard for over 30 years, Phillip established renown as a master at crafting mountain wines and has become known as one of Napa’s best winemakers. Drawn to the Bravante Vineyard’s unique Howell Mountain terroir, he started consulting for Bravante in 2017.
This Bravante TRIO 2018 is a blend of 100% Estate grown Howell Mountain Bordeaux varietals, although the actual composition is not specified or published. It is bottled in a premium oversized overweighted painted glass bottle.
They refer to their ‘Bordeaux-Style’ wines which is a bit in-precise or non-specific given there are no less than fifty-seven Bordeaux appellations, (as compared with seventeen in Napa) each with a distinctive style based on different designated blends.
Seven hundred and ten cases were produced.
This was dark garnet colored, medium full bodied with black currant and black berry fruits with Howell Mountain signature spice and dusty graphite and subdued tannins on the moderate finish.
RM 90 points.
